For the majority of investors, a simple and diversified approach will do the trick. In a one-stop index fund like the SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF (ticker: SPLG) for instance, anyone can get a piece of the 500 largest U.S. companies in a single holding that costs less than $70 a share. Furthermore, a preponderance of research shows that buying and holding an index fund like SPLG is an effective way to generate long-term returns.
Of course, many investors eventually want to get a bit more tactical with their approach. Maybe they see opportunity or risk in a certain part of the market, or maybe they want to reduce their risk profile, or maybe they want to tap into bigger dividends.
The simplest way to look beyond the plain vanilla index funds is to lean into a sector or two that align with your investing goals. And the following 11 options represent the top sector ETFs to buy, based on the fact that they are all very affordable and highly capitalized funds:
| ETF | Sector | Expense Ratio |
| Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY) | Consumer discretionary | 0.09% |
| Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP) | Consumer staples | 0.09% |
| Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) | Energy | 0.09% |
| Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) | Financials | 0.09% |
| Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) | Health care | 0.09% |
| Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI) | Industrials | 0.09% |
| Vanguard… |
